Costa Mesa is known by some for its seemingly unending supply of shopping malls and traffic-clogged streets. But students who submitted essays, photos and videos of their favorite places in the city managed to show a different side – one with open spaces, beautiful sunsets and the incomparable qualities of home.

The young photographers, essayists and videographers will be honored tonight by the Costa Mesa Library Foundation, which puts on a contest for local students every year with a different topic. This year's topic was “My Favorite Place in Costa Mesa,” and the diversity of submissions came as a surprise to the panel of five that selected the finalists.

“I think we underestimate these kids,” said foundation President Barbara Steck. “We don't give them enough credit for how deeply they think.”

This is the first year in the foundation's four years of running the contest that photo and video were included as categories. More than 200 students submitted essays describing various locations around Costa Mesa such as parks, the OC Fair and art venues.

While the photos showed the foundation what the city looks like through the eyes of kids and teens, it also revealed a lot about the kids and teens themselves, said Coastline Community College photography professor John Clark, one of the judges for the photo submissions.

Clark said he noticed there were a lot of pictures of open spaces throughout Costa Mesa – not the typical places like shopping malls or friend's houses you'd expect to find from teenagers, he said.

“You could really see the times playing into their favorite places,” Clark, 54, said. “Their generation has been handed a lot more stress, as compared to my generation. We had lots of time to go out and play whereas children now are given more responsibility.”

Clark said although many of the photos were clearly taken by beginning photographers, he was impressed by a lot of the submissions. Finalist and 15-year-old Noah Gaeta's “The S'More Flame,” for example, was one of the most impressive photographs out of the whole bunch, both artistically and in terms of its composition, he said.

“That photo just killed me,” Clark said of the shot of a fire pit. “I couldn't stop looking at it.”

ESSAYS HELP DEFINE COMMUNITY NEEDS

The contest is one way of drumming up support for a long-awaited but underfunded new Costa Mesa library, Steck said. A 2012 California State Library report found the Costa Mesa Library has among the lowest space per capita of libraries in the state. Steck said the foundation has been trying for years to get the community to see the need for a new library to replace the current Mesa Verde branch built in 1965.

The foundation is looking into the feasibility of a new central library that could be a meeting spot for students and adults alike – one with collaboration rooms, a cafe, a place for teens, maybe a gift shop, Steck said. But support isn't always a priority from those who see a library as a place where books collect dust, she said.

Another challenge in building the new library is finding the right location. In April, the city notified the foundation that the property located on Fair Drive between Fairview Road and Vanguard Place could no longer be considered because of size concerns and construction costs. The foundation is now considering improving both the current Mesa Verde and the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center to make more of a “Family Activity Center.”

But part of creating a new space is understanding what Costa Mesa residents want in a shared space. The contest is one way of gauging that, Steck said. The first year, the topic was “What would you like to see in a new library?” Next year, the foundation may ask what students would change about Costa Mesa.

This year's students will be honored at 6 tonight during a dinner at the Captain's Table at Orange Coast College. The winners' submissions will be on display and those students will be honored with a cash prize and a surprise gift.

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